Station #8: The Way It Is CONTEXT The Way It Is was recorded by famed pianist Bruce Hornsby, with his band The Range, in 1986. The lyrics explicitly reference economic class struggles, such as welfare and unemployment, and implicitly ties them to racial division, specifically the American Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1990s, “The Way It Is” was sampled by rapper 2Pac (Tupac) Shakur in his song, “Changes.” (In that version, released during an economic boom and government surpluses, 2Pac asks modern questions as to why specific sectors of the lower class are still left behind..)
Next, cue the song below. (To accommodate different computers, the song may be listened to in any one of the following three, separate file formats: AAC/iTunes, .MP3, or .WAV. If one doesn't play, try another!) As you listen, annotate the lyrics, making note of specific statements that strike you as having Marxist undertones.
What story does the opening verse recount? What specific inferences are made regarding “the rich” and its division from “the poor”?
Using brief narrative anecdotes, Hornsby makes his argument: “That’s just the way it is.” What is “it”? Who thinks that “it” is just a fact of life? Would Marx agree or disagree, and why?
Marx claimed that all divisions in society come back commerce. But the second and third verses are not about “the almighty dollar.” Examining them through “a Marxist lens,” what argument is Hornsby making?
The last two verses address specific social problems and their “solutions.” Notice: The word “solutions” is “mockingly” in quotes. What is Hornsby inferring about these “solutions”?
AAC/iTunes File
.MP3 File
.WAV File
LYRICS: First Verse: Standing in line, marking time, waiting for their welfare dime, ‘Cause they can’t buy a job. A man in the silk suit hurries by, as he catches the poor old lady’s eyes Just for fun he says, “Get a job . . .
Refrain: [The man in the silk suit continues] “That’s just the way it is. Some things will never change.” [Hornsby’s reply] That's just the way it is? Ah, but don’t you believe them . . .
Second Verse: [The man in the silk suit] said “Hey, little boy, you can’t go where the others go, ‘Cause you don't look like they do” [The little boy’s reply] “Say, hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way? And did you really think about it before you made the rules that said so?”
Refrain: [The man in the silk suit replying] “That’s just the way it is. Some things will never change.” [Hornsby’s reply] That's just the way it is? Ah, but don’t you believe them . . .
Third Verse: Well, they passed a law in ’64 to give those who “ain't got” a little more . . . But it only goes so far . . . ‘Cause the law don’t change another’s mind When all they see at hiring time is the line on a color bar . . . No!
Revised Refrain: [In reference to third verse] That’s just the way it is. Some things may never change. That's just the way it is . . . That's just the way it is, it is, it is, it is . . .
* * * * * Now take note of the still pictures below. Consider the meaning of these images.
Finally, engage in a small-group discussion. Each member of the group must contribute to the process by fulfilling an assigned role. Then, in a thoughtful, “MEL-style” short essay response, answer this question:
What specific information should a Marxist critic consider in an analysis of this text? Using that information as evidence, what meaning can we make of this text, using Marxist tenets as our “lenses”?
CONTEXT
The Way It Is was recorded by famed pianist Bruce Hornsby, with his band The Range, in 1986. The lyrics explicitly reference economic class struggles, such as welfare and unemployment, and implicitly ties them to racial division, specifically the American Civil Rights Movement. In the late 1990s, “The Way It Is” was sampled by rapper 2Pac (Tupac) Shakur in his song, “Changes.” (In that version, released during an economic boom and government surpluses, 2Pac asks modern questions as to why specific sectors of the lower class are still left behind..)
Next, cue the song below. (To accommodate different computers, the song may be listened to in any one of the following three, separate file formats: AAC/iTunes, .MP3, or .WAV. If one doesn't play, try another!) As you listen, annotate the lyrics, making note of specific statements that strike you as having Marxist undertones.
What story does the opening verse recount? What specific inferences are made regarding “the rich” and its division from “the poor”?
Using brief narrative anecdotes, Hornsby makes his argument: “That’s just the way it is.” What is “it”? Who thinks that “it” is just a fact of life? Would Marx agree or disagree, and why?
Marx claimed that all divisions in society come back commerce. But the second and third verses are not about “the almighty dollar.” Examining them through “a Marxist lens,” what argument is Hornsby making?
The last two verses address specific social problems and their “solutions.” Notice: The word “solutions” is “mockingly” in quotes. What is Hornsby inferring about these “solutions”?
AAC/iTunes File
.MP3 File
.WAV File
LYRICS:
First Verse:
Standing in line, marking time, waiting for their welfare dime,
‘Cause they can’t buy a job.
A man in the silk suit hurries by, as he catches the poor old lady’s eyes
Just for fun he says, “Get a job . . .
Refrain:
[The man in the silk suit continues]
“That’s just the way it is.
Some things will never change.”
[Hornsby’s reply]
That's just the way it is?
Ah, but don’t you believe them . . .
Second Verse:
[The man in the silk suit] said “Hey, little boy, you can’t go where the others go,
‘Cause you don't look like they do”
[The little boy’s reply]
“Say, hey, old man, how can you stand to think that way?
And did you really think about it before you made the rules that said so?”
Refrain:
[The man in the silk suit replying]
“That’s just the way it is.
Some things will never change.”
[Hornsby’s reply]
That's just the way it is?
Ah, but don’t you believe them . . .
Third Verse:
Well, they passed a law in ’64 to give those who “ain't got” a little more . . .
But it only goes so far . . . ‘Cause the law don’t change another’s mind
When all they see at hiring time is the line on a color bar . . .
No!
Revised Refrain:
[In reference to third verse]
That’s just the way it is. Some things may never change.
That's just the way it is . . .
That's just the way it is, it is, it is, it is . . .
* * * * *
Now take note of the still pictures below. Consider the meaning of these images.
Finally, engage in a small-group discussion. Each member of the group must contribute to the process by fulfilling an assigned role. Then, in a thoughtful, “MEL-style” short essay response, answer this question:
What specific information should a Marxist critic consider in an analysis of this text? Using that information as evidence, what meaning can we make of this text, using Marxist tenets as our “lenses”?